The No.2 Javelina softball team went 3-1 over the weekend at the McGhee-Hawkins Invitational, extending their record to 9-1.
Day one in Arkadelphia saw the Blue and Gold pick up their seventh victory of 2020 with a 6-1 victory over Ouachita Baptist before collecting their first defeat in an 8-1 loss to Mississippi College. TAMUK returned to winning form on Sunday with decisive victories over Christian Brothers University (CBU) and Henderson State University (HSU), 6-0 and 9-0, respectively.
Catcher Matisen Onofrei kicked things off against CBU with a two-run rocket over the centerfield wall. Half-an-inning later, CBU answered on a wild throw and a fielder’s choice, tying the score at 2-2.
In the third, Onofrei drove a ground ball to short, allowing sophomore Amber Reyes to cross the plate and pick up the 3-2 lead for the Javelinas. Reyes would score again in the fourth after stealing second and coming across following a gapper by junior Loren Kelly.
Sophomore Jory Cervantes sealed CBU’s fate with a two-run line drive to center.
Senior Breanna Smith would pick her fourth win of the season, giving up only two hits after the second inning. The San Antonio-native threw all seven innings, walking only three batters and fanning four.
Kelly led the attack at the plate, racking up three hits in five at-bats and driving in one run. Onofrie went 1-3 with a homerun and three RBI’s.
In an interview with Javelina Athletics, coach Craig Nicholson praised his team’s defensive efforts.
“Our pitching and defense were really good today. We stranded some runners early in game one, but then were able to have some good at-bats with runners in scoring position late in both games,” Nicholson said.
The first four innings against Henderson State showed off a pitching duel between sophomore Saidi Castillo and HSU’s Mallory Brewer, neither pitcher allowing a single run.
After leaving runners in scoring position in the second, third and fourth innings, the Javelinas loaded the bases in the fifth and called on junior Anastasia Leibas. Leibas slapped a Texas-leaguer into right, allowing Reyes and pinch-runner Anika Barbosa to cross the plate. Onofrei followed with a double, sending sophomore Yvonne Castillo home and giving TAMUK the three-run lead. Belton-native Sydney Andrews scored the inning’s final run on a Cervantes groundout, extending the Javelina lead to 4-0.
Kelly catalyzed a Blue and Gold rally in the seventh, swatting a single, stealing a base and scoring TAMUK’s fifth run on an HSU-error. The Javelinas loaded the bases, and junior Claire Chernosky ripped her first career grand slam over the right-centerfield wall.
Saidi Castillo only allowed four hits in her third win of 2020, allowing no runs and striking out six.
Leibas was perfect at the plate, going 3-3 with two RBI’s and a walk. Chernosky, Onofrei and first-baseman Makenzie Mays each added two hits of their own.
The Javelinas return to action on Valentine’s Day in Tuscon, Ariz., where they will take on the Wolves of Western Oregon at 10 a.m. before a 12:30 p.m. matchup with the Bisons of Dixie State.
